v Old Wesley
UCD J2 30 - Old Wesley 27
With the match in injury time and tied at 27 a-piece it looked as though the spoils would be shared in this week's latest instalment of the J2 campaign. That was until another UCD forward rumble was illegally collapsed thirty-five meters out and out-half and marksman Paul Roddy, fresh from his Christmas party the night before, delivered a penalty kick under huge pressure to steal a win and a bonus point for Collidge. That makes it five wins in a row now for the J2 road show.
The famous Methodist Minister Charles Wesley died in 1788 and Old Wesley usually field a J2 team with a few stalwart players that look as though they knew Charles personally. Not this year. Wesley field an under 23 team at this level now and play a brand of rugby more usually associated with ourselves. So, despite a near hurricane blowing down the Thornfield pitch on Saturday, a surprisingly open game of rugby was attempted by both sides. On a day that produced the largest waves seen in Ireland since records began, this tactic proved costly at times for both teams.
In direct contradiction to the elements, both teams started their battle into the hurricane with a period of dominance. UCD started well but ceded an early try following a turnover resulting from an optimistic pass in the centre been blown off course. Cue a period of pick-and-go, close-quarters rugby from UCD that, in conjunction with the wind, literally blew Old Wesley off the park and yielded three great tries. One came from our trade-mark maul, the others from Dave Lennon and Nessan Crean. UCD went in 17 - 12 up at the break, looking forward to playing with the wind for the second half.
A fifteen minute collective snooze from UCD allowed Wesley to nab three tries into the wind and gave UCD a mountain to climb in the final twenty five minutes. Switching back into gear, UCD closed-out the game in business-like fashion. The forwards were again tremendous, with Wesley struggling to contain the UCD maul which ultimately yielded two tires and a penalty to seal Welsey's fate.
Apart from his match winning cameo at the death, Paul Roddy was excellent in keeping UCD in the right part of the pitch in the closing twenty. Peter Feeney's darts were also 100% accurate, some feat given the gale. Will Hutch had a superb afternoon in the lineout. Ronan Grace, and the omni-present Colm Lahy had very effective afternoons in the loose.
Coach Gordon Cantwell declared eighteen man of the match awards for a team that defied the elements and showed maturity to win this nail-biting J2 encounter. To close, a rare and beautiful sight was witnessed mid-way through the second half in Thornfield, in the form of prop Geoff Lavery, flying up the middle of the field, ball in hand. Some say this feat of athleticism was wind-assisted, others see it as evidence of the new improved Geoff that has emerged this season. We will have to wait until next week's outing, away to league leaders Wanderers, to confirm.